5 Movies and TV Shows You Must Watch Streaming Right Now

Streaming

The best of new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus and more.

Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week we recommend five must-see movies and TV series available on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO MaxPeacock, Paramount+ and more.

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New movies streaming

“Continue”

“Die Hard” had just the right amount of Christmas lights and Christmas spirit to make the question of whether or not it’s a Christmas movie worth debating. With “Carry-On,” a new Netflix movie that owes a debt of gratitude to John McClane, there’s no debate—this is 100 percent a Christmas movie.

Taron Egerton plays Ethan, a TSA agent whose pregnant girlfriend has been trying to get him to follow his dreams and reapply to the police academy. He gets a bit distracted when he is suddenly confronted by a faceless criminal (Jason Bateman) who blackmails him into letting a deadly package through security. Director Jaume Collet-Serra cut his teeth on better-than-they-should-be thrillers starring Liam Neeson (“The Commuter,” “Non-Stop”), but this is his best work yet, a taut thriller with Egerton , an able stand-in for Neeson in the hardened hero role.

How to watch: “Carry-On” is streaming on Netflix.

“Hundreds of Beavers”

In the winter of 2019, independent filmmaker Mike Cheslik assembled a small crew in Wisconsin to make a micro-budget film called “Hundreds of Beavers.” Set in the rugged frontier of the 1800s, the comedy chronicles the misadventures of Jean Kayak, a drunken applejack salesman who must figure out how to trap and kill hundreds of beavers (played by humans in mascot costumes) – initially just to survive, but eventually to win his love’s hand in marriage from her harsh father.

The film is a wild slapstick adventure that celebrates the talk and eye pokes of Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges, the death-defying stunts of Buster Keaton and the cartoon logic of Tom and Jerry or Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. This is the most I’ve laughed at a movie in 2024. “Hundreds of Beavers” is free to watch on YouTube, but do yourself a favor and catch the midnight view at the Coolidge Corner Theater on Friday for an optimal viewing experience.

How to watch: “Hundreds of Beavers” is streaming for free with ads on YouTube.

“Jury #2”

“Juror #2” is the kind of mid-budget drama that used to play in theaters every weekend 20 years ago. Instead, Warner Bros. decided to dump the Clint Eastwood-directed film in fewer than 50 theaters nationwide in a single weekend before making its streaming debut on Max this weekend.

A twist on “12 Angry Men,” Nicholas Hoult plays a juror who slowly begins to realize he may be connected to the case he’s tasked with judging and struggles with the moral dilemma that follows. Unlike the Sidney Lumet classic, there is no Henry Fonda in a white suit speaking up to be the voice of conscience. Only Hoult poses the same question in the minds of many Americans: Are truth and justice objective, or is power the ultimate arbiter?

How to watch: “Juror #2” is streaming on Max.

New TV shows streaming

“Gilmore Girls” Holiday Collection

Earlier this year, a colleague asked for a list of “nice” TV shows to watch when the weather turns cold. After some discussion, we realized that what she was actually looking for was basically a list of shows similar to “Gilmore Girls,” of which there are virtually none. With the first big snowfall of the year, there’s no better show to cozy up to on the couch than Amy Sherman-Palladino’s warm, witty drama.

Luckily, Hulu got the memo and put together a nine-part list of ‘Gilmore Girls’ holiday episodes, so you can watch Lorelai (Lauren Graham) invite the entire town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut to the celebratory Bracebridge Dinner, Rory (Alexis Bledel) adjust to the addition of a new father figure at Christmas and more Christmas cheer.

How to watch: The “Gilmore Girls” holiday collection is streaming on Hulu.

“Layed”

Ruby (Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”) has her midlife crisis a little early when the 33-year-old learns that her college sweetheart has died. She hasn’t had the best luck in relationships – and as it turns out, neither have her exes, who all seem to die in mysterious ways.

The eight-episode show begins to resemble a funhouse mirror version of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” as Ruby, unable to understand what’s happening, begins visiting her former lovers to warn them of the apparent curse, who follows her.

How to watch: “Laid” is streaming on Peacock.